Technical Writing World
The social network for technical communicators
How did you end up a technical writer?
Perhaps your habit of correcting typos on the back of cereal boxes clued you in early on that technical writing was your calling. Or maybe you were an engineer who meandered into the field and found that it better suited your personality.
My story is probably typical. In the 4th grade, I received a Commodore computer as a Christmas present, and was soon hanging out on B.B.S. sites and writing games in BASIC. However, my interest in books soon pushed computers into the background, and in college I found myself majoring in British Literature.
My college advisor wisely stated that literature wasn't exactly a hot prospect for employment, and suggested a graduate program in Technical Writing. I had no idea the field existed. But, the shoe fit, and my graduate studies were very fulfilling. I made some valuable connections that helped me land my first technical writing job, and I haven't looked back since.
So, how did you end up a technical writer?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Frank Sanger on -
My age is important to my story, I think. I was born in 1952. Tech writing as a discipline, I believe, emerged in the military for contract specification and repair and maintenance. This is a total guess, mind you. I have never even thought to google the phrase "tech writing history".
Craig Haiss's story's beginning is similar to mine. Grew up interested in sciences; loved to read about everything. But I was in 4th grade in 1960. I graduated college in 1974 with my degree in a multi-disciplinary major of my own concoction(!) [I do not believe this option exists any more in too many places; there was an experimental spirit in education in the mid-70s. Some schools allowed you to not take a grade ("mark" in some parts of the world).] As I rarely bother to tell people who ask, I called my major "Communication in American Society" and took classes only for interest's sake. After graduation, I taught swimming.
Two years later I began to think about more income and career and so on. This is literally what happened. I went to the Seattle downtown library, to the Business and Commerce room, and pulled down a thick reference book put out by the US Department of Labor called the Occupational Outlook Handbook. When I had skimmed through as far as the "t"s, I read the entry "Technical Writing" a couple of times. Like Craig, I had never heard of it.
Back in those days (been waiting to use that phrase), the University of Washington had one of the few tech writing curricula--about five courses, all undergraduate. I took two courses and was prepared as I needed to be to get the rest of my training on the job. Technical writers with relevant schooling were rare then (back in those days).
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Permalink Reply by Milan Davidović on -
From an instructor of English for Specific Purposes helping other people learn to write for their work to doing the writing myself.
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Permalink Reply by Frank Sanger on
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What was the transition like? Did you work at both for awhile? Waver at all? Are you a lifer or a sojourner?
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Permalink Reply by Milan Davidović on
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No crossover between the two, no trouble making the transition, and no interest in going back — though in my current position as an editor and working exclusively with writers whose first language is not English, I feel a bit like I have gone back.
A lifer at technical communication? Depends on how you define "technical communication".
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Permalink Reply by Frank Sanger on
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Personally? Broadly. I have never encountered the category "ESP". For either ESP or TW, a narrow definition would be unhelpful. Perhaps the best definitions would stick solely to the notion of purpose.
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Permalink Reply by Milan Davidović on
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In that case, I might end up sticking with, let's say, "communication for specific purposes" in one way or another for a while.
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Permalink Reply by Frank Sanger on
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IMHO the world needs a lot more of us. It would be interesting to do (or study if the first-hand work is done already) research on the tangible costs of the want of [reasonably good] technical communication. Even without good data as to its effect, I get a (deluded?) sense of the importance of the work we do. It is satisfying.
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Permalink Reply by Heidi A Slade on -
I'd never heard of technical writing until my senior year of university. I needed some extra credits to fill up my Literature degree, and took a beginners tech writing class. Our professor was a woman who had worked in the private sector for over 20 years as both a tech writer and a marketing writer.
Within the first week, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do professionally, so I sought other materials on my own time, whilst regretting that I was graduating and couldn't take more classes. Within 8 months, I had my first technical writing job, within 5 years earned a Senior title, and I don't intend on stopping there.
I've found tech writing satisfies both my inner grammar geek and computer nerd. The constant interviews and sometimes incredibly difficult-to-find information make you feel like a private eye some days. Humphrey Bogart, SRS Detective (hah.)
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Permalink Reply by Mark Rudden on -
I came from an electronics hardware background. I was an electronics technician for 14 years when I met my future wife. She was a computer consultant, and constantly moved wherever the jobs were. We both love traveling, so no worries there, and I had always had a secret dream of being a speculative fiction writer. Since she made enough money to support us both, I quit my job, sold my house, and went on the road, trading househusband duties in exchange for the chance to pursue creative writing.
After eight years, I decided that the jungle of fiction-writing was not my thing, and cast about for a new career. We had settled down at that point, and it seemed a natural to combine my two former careers, technology and writing, into technical writing. It's not the most fun I've ever had writing, but it pays the bills...
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Divine on -
I always had a knack for writing, & had the intention of being an advertising copywriter in radio (think "Madmen") after I got my B.A. in Communications. But a recession intervened, killing job prospects. I floundered trying to do freelance writing work (which I still love, but the turnaround on getting paid proved too scary to make an occupation of it).
Eventually, I applied for a technical writing position at an aerospace company; the vacancy I applied for fell through though. A year later, I got a callback to see if I was interested in a production job, & out of sheer desperation, I took it. The work itself wasn't particularly rewarding, although it paid a decent wage for the time. After a few years, I ran out of work, & was miraculously reassigned to a technical writing position, which I've done ever since. Not to be superstitious, but timing can really be crucial; a lot can happen by timing & coincidence regardless of your skills.
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Permalink Reply by Sandy Stuckless on
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My story starts when I was a kid.
For as long as I can remember I've enjoyed writing. I guess it stems from a love of reading. I remember sitting as a kid next to the fire place with a hot cup of tea and a good book.
I started writing fiction in middle school, but it was just for fun and I didn't really take it seriously. I wrote all the way through high school and into college where I studied electronics. There was actually a short elective course on technical writing and I remember thinking 'Who would want to do this for a living?' I found it boring. That was before I knew better.
Fast forward a few years into my electronics technician career, an opening for a junior tech writer came up at the company I worked for and several of my colleagues encouraged me to take the shot. So I did.
That was almost seven years ago and I can't imagine myself doing anything else.
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Permalink Reply by Hareem Khizar on
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In that sense I am quite lucky in this regard. I started my career with technical writing in 2004 and still working in this field :)
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